Star Witch

By: Helen Harper

Narrated by: Tanya Eby

Length: 7 hrs and 48 mins

Publisher's Summary

Ivy Wilde, the laziest witch in the West, is still entangled with the Hallowed Order of Magical Enlightenment. That's not a bad thing, however, because it gives her plenty of excuses to spend more time with sapphire-eyed Raphael Winter, her supposed nemesis. And when he comes knocking because he needs her to spy on the latest series of Enchantment, she jumps at the chance.

Hanging around a film set can't be hard - or dangerous - right?

©2017 Helen Harper (P)2017 Tantor

wonderfully funny, quirky and satisfying

Ivy continues to delight the readers with her antics. Her aversion to anything “Order” related has soften. She goes to Scotland to investigate a suspicious death on the scene of Enchantment, her favorite show. She is star stuck to be in the orbit of her favorite Enchantment stars but pissed that she must work. Her working title is called a runner. After day one, running has given her blisters. Ivy and Winter are not working hand to hand as in book 1. They were released from the spell, which kept them bound.

A round of applause for Helen Harper unique handling of the romance between Ivy and Winter. If you follow my reviews, you know that I identify many of the romances as harlequin. Harlequin romances include the overly dramatic method in which men and women fall in love. There is the pattern of attraction, denial of attraction, passionate kisses, denial of attraction, a lifesaving incident, passionate kisses, and final a declaration of love concluding with the Neanderthal declaration of, my woman/my man.

The romance of Ivy and Winter was lightly referenced in book 1. Their physical attraction consummated with the walk of shame. Their discussion of their tryst was straight forward without the numerous misunderstanding usually featured in romance story lines. Thank the Lord! Harper’s romance for our characters does not supplant the plot. It is a quirky story line without the dramatics or saccharine found in harlequin romances. I enjoyed how our lovers acknowledged their feelings.

Despite the heroism Ivy showed for the “Order” in book 1 and her willingness to save their butts in book 2, the “Order” is still taking advantage of any non-order witches. Winter was not having none of that. Ivy identifies the threat as a zombie while Winter says it is an animated anomaly. If you encounter a dead body, which reentered the world from a grave and has a penchant for blood, is that a zombie?

P.S. Give Helen Harper her kudos for her description of Ivy as a curvy woman!

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

I LOVE this series!!!

I rarely write actual reviews, but I have to give a shout out to both writer and reader for this one. The plot is twisty enough to entertain without stressing me out. The main character is funny, kind, and above all, intelligent. None of those cringing "why do you suddenly think you don't need help saving the world when you couldn't find your own keys last chapter" moments. I'm looking forward to the third coming out on Audible!

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Oh my witchy

Yep love this lazy guide to her witchy life can't wait to listen to the next one.

Such a funny series!!!

Star Witch
The Lazy Girl's Guide to Magic, Book 2
By: Helen Harper
Narrated by: Tanya Eby
OH MY GOD! This series is so funny! I love it! A funny, slightly overweight, slightly lazy witch, but smart, powerful, witch with a gorgeous witch that likes things orderly. She has a cat that can talk, boy, can he! She spelled him so he can talk with her and the cat is my favorite character...lol. Although Brutus the cat doesn't have much of a role in this book, he does in the other books. In this book, there is plenty of fun things going on. I giggled the whole way through!
The narrator is half the fun. She make the characters really pop! I don't think it would be as fun if I read the books. She adds her own funny way about her to the characters and I can't help myself but giggle and even give a snort here and there! Super fun!

Love this series - Second story was amazing!

If you could sum up Star Witch in three words, what would they be?

I had no idea what to expect when I first started listening to this series and it truly drew me in and kept me there! Great storyline that the author keeps exciting and lots of twists and turns! Listening to the third book now and loving this series, great fun!

What other book might you compare Star Witch to and why?

Harry Potter with a young adult female lead - magic and excitement

Have you listened to any of Tanya Eby’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Great job!

Good story telling Great Story

Really good story. Nararator is excellent. If you are looking for a witchy mystery with a splash of danger and a sprinkling of romance then you have found your book. A well written book is a rare treasure.

Love this

I really enjoy this series... I love the characters. Now time to move on to the 3rd book ❤️

Phenomenal

Really damn good book. I am surprised and pleased by this author. Buying the next book immediately. Probably all of the books by this author for that matter. love

This book series is FUN!

I really enjoy this fun, lighthearted, book series. Ivy is a witch after my own heart!

Whodunit & Survivor Magical Edition

I really enjoyed this book, our 2 main characters finally show feelings for each other. I absolutely loved that Brutus went with another witch and that our heroine gets thrown into ridiculous situations and she’s not even a part of the order. On to book 3.

Let down by choice of narrator

What did you like best about Star Witch? What did you like least?

A vast improvement over the first book in the series - the awful Winter turns out to be not as bad as he seemed and finally Does The Right Thing with regard to his misplaced loyalty to H.O.M.E.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Star Witch?

The obstacle course was was a fun scene

Would you be willing to try another one of Tanya Eby’s performances?

Only if she isn't narrating and English character or a book set in the UK with lots of non-American characters.

Any additional comments?

Given how awful the first book was, I was very surprised by how good the story is in this one It is, however, a shame a non-English narrator was selected for this series, as the American accent speaking such English phrases and slang jarred all the way through. She can't do a decent English accent and can't pronounce things the English way either.

I'd advise reading the print version rather than listening to the Audiobook.

5 of 5 people found this review helpful

Great story, but...

I love this lady's writing. It's well-written, witty and the plots are great. What absolutely killed me with this book was an American reading a book that is set in Oxford. With the previous book I could live with it as she does speak very well. But this book is set in Scotland and for me this Scottish accent was so extremely painful to listen to that I almost gave up on the book. It totally and utterly ruined it. Either get someone to narrate who is from Scotland, or who can do a Scottish accent, but to have an American trying this made the bile rise in my throat. I'm sorry. She's a lovely lady with a great speaking voice and for the rest of the book and the previous one, I could get past the accent. But this was a killer. Please don't do it again.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

Great story, very poor narrator choice.

The American accent for a British woman from Oxford was bad enough in the first book, but the awful Scottish accents and bad pronunciation of place names in this book was agonising.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Brilliant

Would have been better with a real English accent, but doesn't affect the story

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

I do enjoy these books.

This is the 2nd book in the Lazy Girl's Guide to Magic and after enjoying the first one so much I Had high hopes. I am happy to say that every bit of the writing and the narration lived up to my high expectations. Helen Harper is excellent at blending danger, adenture and humour and Tanya Eby does a magical job of bringing these stories to life. Fabulous.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

enjoyable and funny

very well paced storyline, narrator did a marvellous job. I was sorry it ended and will look for next in series as soon as I finish this review.

Totally different

I came across this series by accident and never regretted it! Funny and serious together. Gareth and his sheep are a bit silly and I think she could have found a better plot device or done it slightly differently and occasionally the dialogue is out of character. However it's possible to overlook it in the overall enjoyment of the story and the brilliant narration by Tanya Eby.

good follow up in this series

My Thoughts:
Why in god's name did Ivy suddenly look like a drag queen in the cover of this book? Sure, the over-glittered barbie look is not my favourite, but it was preferable to the drag queen!!! Anyway, Brutus is getting a bit of action in this book and for the first time ever, I get to read him talk in real sentences and hold a conversation! How's that for fun! Ok, ok... I so need to get a life... on the other hand... nah, I'll just read a book :) ..So, I wondered why the title of this book is Star Witch, then it made sense as I read on. The cover might not be the best, but, one thing you can say about this series is that the titles are always apropos! And as usual, the narration is wonderful!

Empirical Evaluation:
Story telling quality = 4
Character development = 4
Story itself = 4
Writing Style = 4
Ending = 4
World building = 4
Cover art = 3
Pace = (8 hours & 9 minutes)
Plot = 4.5
Narration = 5

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5

Yes yes yes

Yes yes yes I want more.
I absolutely love this story. I can’t wait for book three.
I’m completely addicted to the characters and their personalities and really would love be part of their circle.
How long before the next instalment???

Enjoyable

This is an easy listen just like most of Helen Harper's books. A likeable lead and a fun storyline. Will definitely listen to the next in the series if there is one.